Nostalgic November

Last year around Christmastime, Briella and I were able to attend "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" at the Akron Civic for a Mommy-Daughter date since Gianna and Micah were still too young to withstand staying up so late. This year, though, Gianna was ready for a later bedtime {but still very tired by the end of the ride!} so Papa helped us find a foursome of tickets for the Polar Express. While we thought it was for December, the mixup in the dates was no difference for the girls; they had a wonderful time. Micah stayed home with our babysitter Cayleigh and we rode to the North Pole. The girls enjoyed homemade hot chocolate, mixed special from Papa, and Christmas cookies made by Briella and me the night before the ride. I think "magical" definitely is a word to describe this night for them. A BIG thank you to their Papa and Nonna for making this happen for them! 

                       

  

   

In the same week that the girls were able to experience the Polar Express, we had another exciting milestone to put on the books. Gianna had her very first overnight at Papa and Nonna's house and she did wonderfully! The excitement in her voice when she told me all about the next day was priceless. I'm so grateful that Papa asked for her to give it a try because, sure enough, she fell asleep without a hitch and even needed woken up the next morning! Our reserved Gianna is starting to spread her wings and it's so neat to watch it happen. 

  

And while the girls were at Papa and Nonna's house, Jim and I brought Micah to Wadsworth's annual Candlelight Walk. He sincerely enjoyed it; especially the horse drawn carriages with "Neih" (horses) on them and he excitedly pointed at them saying, "Neigh!" He especially loved when we let him walk around the center of town and he stopped for almost an entire minute to admire and stare at the nativity scene in one of the store fronts. Another mom saw me take a picture of the moment and said, "Now that's going to be a great picture." It was a special evening to share with him and I'm so glad we did it. 

And then, the following night (Saturday, November 18th) our power went off unexpectedly for almost four hours. The girls got to share their first home sleepover that night (they did have a sleepover when we went to Cedar Point this past summer), and surprisingly, they did GREAT. No one got out of bed and they hardly talked, keeping them up late. Gianna was tired so she didn't want to "play" around, hahaha! When she's ready for bed, she's ready for bed and means business.

The progression of their sleepover...

Notice Gianna already cuddled up and ready to sleep. She does not play around when it comes to falling asleep.

 One hour into being asleep.
And then, 

2 hours into sleeping.  :-)

I love how they love each other. Sure, they squabble and tattle on each other, but they can go from that to hugging in less than a minute. True love. They share such a special relationship that I always wished to have with a sister and I'm so glad that they get to experience it! 

And on Wednesday, November 22nd, Papa and Nonna offered to watch Gianna and Micah while Jim and I attended Briella's Thanksgiving program at NCA. We took her for lunch afterward. She had been saying she wanted her ears pierced and TODAY was the day! And, after eating this lunch, sure enough...

 SHE.DID.IT!

I never felt right piercing the girl's ears when they were babies and I believed it was something that they should decide to do, and Briella did just that. She came to us saying that she wanted her ears pierced, and I'm not going to lie, I brushed it off because she said the same thing last year and got cold feet when I took her there. 

For this past week, she continued to talk about doing it so we set a date and she counted down each day until it was that day. Briella was so very brave; only shedding a few quiet tears with her head buried into Jim's shoulder when he proudly hugged her, but quickly recovered to excitement within a minute after it was done. She is convinced that she looks like a different person and thinks all of her classmates won't recognize her when she goes back to school next week. She's so unique with the way she thinks!  

Thanksgiving 2017

The day began with Jim and Micah starting a fire because that's what you do when you live in the country.  ;-) Jim was a rockstar on Thanksgiving. He willingly cooked our entire meal (Dad contributed his ahhhmazing Sweet Potatoes and cranberry sauce). While Jim cooked, I cleaned up his dishes and it was a great team effort. By the time we were done eating, there was hardly any clean up and just a lot of relaxing...or as much 'relaxing' as parents of 3 young kids can manage.

Our guest of honor this year was Grandpa. Briella painted him a 'canvas' and presented him an early birthday gift when he arrived. Micah played with his very special blue Mustang from Grandpa all day!

I sat down next to Jim, and the next thing we knew, all the kids came and sat with us so Papa quickly jumped up and caught the moment on camera.

She may be the 'biggest' out of all the kids, but she still loves to be cuddled like the youngest. I love that!

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November 28th was a 65 degree day so after I picked up Briella from school I surprised the kids with playground time. We haven't been to the playground since Nick's visit in October and Micah has really gained confidence and agility on the steps and slides. It was so fun watching him "own" the playground equipment.